CHANDIGARH: A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Chandigarh on Friday sent Punjab Deputy Inspector General of Police Ropar Range Harcharan Singh Bhullar to 14-day judicial custody following his arrest in a high-profile corruption case even as Rs 7.5 crore, 26 luxury watches and documents pertaining to more than 50 immovable properties were recovered from his residence.
CBI officials informed the court that the apex agency had completed its initial interrogation and no further police custody was being sought at this stage. The CBI prosecutor submitted that the case involved serious allegations of corruption by a serving senior police officer and that investigations into the trail of assets and cash recoveries were still underway.
Narender Singh, counsel for the CBI, while seeking judicial custody, argued in court that there was apprehension of the accused influencing the witnesses, tampering with evidence and otherwise obstructing the fair course of investigation.
“We sought 14 days of judicial custody for the accused. The court of Alka Malik has granted the judicial custody till October 30,” he said.
Bhullar’s counsel AS Sukhija and HS Dhanoa requested the court to direct the jail authorities to provide for all his medications. The court agreed to the request and said the same would be done as per law. Bhullar appeared in court with his face covered with a handkerchief. After the hearing, Bhullar told the media that he had full faith in the judiciary and would clear his name through due process. "We will answer each and every thing," he said.
Earlier in the day, CBI sleuths took the senior police official for a medical examination after which he was produced in court.
The CBI had arrested Bhullar along with his associate Kirshanu Sharda in a bribery case involving Rs 8 lakh. He was also allegedly seeking recurring monthly illegal payments from the complainant, according to the CBI.
In a statement, the CBI said, "A case was registered by CBI on October 16 against the accused public servant and his associate on allegations that the officer demanded a bribe of Rs 8 lakh and monthly illegal gratification through his middleman for “settling” an FIR registered against the complainant and ensuring that no further coercive or adverse police action was taken against his business."
The CBI caught Sharda red-handed while demanding and accepting ₹8 lakh from the complainant on behalf of Bhullar in Chandigarh, the statement said, adding that searches were carried out at various premises linked to the police officer in Punjab and Chandigarh.
The CBI recovered cash of approximately Rs 7.5 crore, gold jewellery weighing around 2.5 kg, 26 luxury watches and documents pertaining to more than 50 immovable properties held in the names of family members and suspected ‘benami’ entities, the statement added.
Meanwhile, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) demanded a probe into the money trail to find out on whose behalf Bhullar was collecting ill-gotten wealth and to whom the proceeds were being transferred.
Senior party leader Parambans Singh Romana said, "Punjabis have a right to know where money being looted from the people of the state is going. Is it being used to contest elections in other states or going directly into the hands of AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal?" He said the fact that chief minister Bhagwant Mann and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were silent on the issue indicated that they had a lot of hide. “The CBI probe must concentrate on this aspect to uncover the entire corruption modus operandi of the party," he added.
Asserting that the real face of the AAP had been exposed post the CBI raid on Bhullar and his subsequent arrest, Romana said, "It is now clear that a government which claims it has zero tolerance towards corruption is not only tolerating corruption but also promoting and facilitating it."
